Hunt saboteurs and animal rights groups don’t want British hunters for obvious reasons. But Irish foxhunters are also against them because they say there’s no room. Although sympathetic to their British counterparts “plight” they suggest Britons should look instead to France or eastern Europe, where blood sports remain popular.
“There is a lot of hunting with hounds in France and there is a lot of open space there, so that could be a possibility,” said David Wilkinson of the Hunting Association of Ireland. “The Eastern European countries that have just joined the European Union are also very big into hunting, there may be scope there.”
There are about 300 packs currently registered to hunt in Ireland and the activity has gained in popularity in the past 10 years. “We have a limited number of hunt clubs and most of them are over-subscribed as it is,” said Wilkinson. “We are a small country geographically and there just physically isn’t the room for more.”
Brian Munn of the Irish Masters of Foxhounds Association said: “We are very sympathetic to British hunters, but we cannot and will not allow some mad, massive influx of hunting tourists. It can’t happen and we’ll make sure it doesn’t. We couldn’t sustain it, the countryside couldn’t sustain it and we will be at the forefront along with the farmers in making sure that doesn’t happen.”
As it is, a small number of visitors from around Europe and America do join hunts in Ireland. “The only way a visitor can come out is if a member says he will give up his day’s hunting, and they are not going to do that readily,” said Munn.
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The anti-hunt lobby in Ireland believes the British government’s decision last week has increased the chances of similar legislation being passed here. “Lobbying and campaigning will be stepped up because we have a fair chance now of getting a bill through (the Dail),” said Bernie Wright, of the Association of Hunt Saboteurs.
Previous attempts by Tony Gregory, an independent TD, to get foxhunting banned were unsuccessful. “Animals don’t have votes so it is very hard to achieve something at that level with the government,” said Wright.
Violent scenes from pro-hunt protesters outside Westminster were indicative of “the sort of violence we face all the time when we go out there”, she said. “Over here is no different. I’ve come home with no windows in the car. We’ve had people get stitches in their head. We’ve been attacked on numerous occasions. People that abuse animals aren’t great towards humans either.” Foxhunting organisations believe there is no political will to change the status quo and expect no ban to be imposed in Ireland for the foreseeable future.
Wilkinson said Irish foxhunting organisations met with the Department of Agriculture several years ago and set up an agreed protocol for hunting in this country. “That is something they could have done across the water,” he said. “Since we set up this self-regulatory agreement there have been no complaints. It’s not on the agenda of any of the main political parties and we would be in contact with them regularly.”
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